Saturday, December 31, 2016

I thought we were done with 2016, but Mr Wazoo burst my bubble when he informed me New Year's Eve is TOMORROW!! All day, I thought it was the night, and I would drink some champagne and watch a chick flick. Nope. I was a day off. The week between Christmas and New Year's is a dumb thing. Are we off? Are we working as usual? Do we still eat our body weight in cookies and turkey?! Yes, yes, and of course!
So you see, the quilt count is a bit off. We quilted another three quilts and I made a flimsy that will be finished tomorrow...the real end of the year.

Mr Wazoo quilted this. When I saw it, I knew I had to make one, too.

I can't remember the name of the panto, but it looks like the swirls in the red fabric.

I quilted this veteran's charity quilt for the nursing home.

The panto is called Star in a lazy log. Weird name...

I put this fun picnic fabric on the back.

I drafted the pattern and made the quilt!I just had to do it.

The next one needs more contrast, but this one is okay for a prototype.It will be a nursing home quilt, too.

Mr Wazoo did this pretty purple quilt, too.

Panto: Ribbon roses

Tomorrow, I will quilt the flimsy from today, and probably another customer quilt. Or maybe I'll goof off...

Friday, December 30, 2016

The year is drawing to a close, and we have looked back to see what we have done this year. Between the two of us, we quilted 342 customer quilts. 267 were pantographs, 47 were custom
quilted, and 28 were commissioned quilts and repair/ finish jobs.
I made 60 quilts from scratch: 20 for charity, 19 commissioned by customers, 7 for family members, One is a guild raffle quilt, 8 were guild challenge quilts, and 5 were just for fun. I gave away 55 of these and kept 5. I also made and gave away three pillows!
Our busiest month was November (no surprise here!) when we quilted 40 pantographs and 5 custom quilts.
I think 2016 was busy enough for us! We are still quilting in December...finished another 4 quilts today. I have started a customer project from some partial Dresden plates made by a family member and stored away for years. Should be fun!

This is a comfort quilt for my guild

Nice batiks in this one

Panto: Twirling leaves

If you look at this closely, it is a fairly simple pattern. I think I need to make this...

Panto: Trailing vine

This quilt is so restful. I love the soft colors.

I can't remember the name of the panto...

Mr Wazoo loaded this one and is ready to go tomorrow!(look closely...same pattern as the earlier green one. I really need to make one of these!)

Dresden plates. I made some of the middle circles today, and the plate on the right.There are 48 plates, so with some sashing, it should be a decent size when I'm done.A two month project, for sure...

I'm ready to wipe the slate clean and start the 2017 count! Happy New Year to one and all. Enjoy the slideshow of the quilts I made in 2016.

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

And just like that...its over! Getting older makes everything move at the speed of light where family is concerned. One second, they're here having fun, and the next, they're waving good-bye. My son and daughter in law made it back to Wisconsin yesterday, and my daughter leaves today. We're off to Atlanta to deliver her to the airport later today, and then, we'll return to the quiet of the mountainside home we love.

Grandpa has their rapt attention while eating breakfast

This pixie kept us on our toes!

So happy to have them here!

Christmas morning.

Time to get back to normal and in the studio. I guess a bit of 'letdown' is normal.I hope you all had a wonderfulChristmas. Now, go take a nap! You deserve it.

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Mr Wazoo is so frustrating!! He won't take it easy and is always doing something else for me to scold him for. A couple of days ago, I looked out the window and there he was, up on a ladder! He couldn't raise his right arm far enough to swing a hammer, so he held the nail with his right hand and pounded away with his left hand. He's right handed. Oh well, the lights are up, and he survived without smashing any fingers.

Putting up the lights.

I know when to stay inside, and this is the time. Its cold out there! I quilted the last two quilts for newly born grandkids of one of our customers, and then sewed up the backing for my show quilt. Now, I just have to do the quilting.

Cute newborn sized flannel quilt

Panto: Yodel

This one is for a two month old boy Grandma is going to see for the first time

Panto: Modern twist

Over the weekend, I baked my little heart out and made 9 different batches of goodies. Here is a sampling of them. Yum. Not fancy, but oh so good! We'll do the cut-out ones when my daughter gets here.

Mr W can't maneuver the rake, so he improvised and used the leaf blower to clean up the lawn and gardens. Everything looks ready for winter, even the pot by the back door got a new winter dressing!

Here is the pot by the back door. So pretty!

Pots of ornamental kale and pansies add just a pop of color to an otherwise gray landscape.

This is the garden that Mr W fell off of. The front of the garden has a retaining wall with a drop-off of about four feet, and he took a running header off it onto the yard below. Ouch!!We'll know soon what damage was done to his shoulder. Hopefully, he hasn't done any more to it with all his fussing in the yard.

This was our first Christmas tree when we moved here.We planted it after that Christmas, and it has grown about a foot in height already!The yard man put lights on it this year. A real Charlie Brown tree!

We are almost ready for the kids and grandson to come, and aware of just how far away our youngest daughter is. She send her good wishes from Australia, where the temps are in the 90s daily.

He is coming!

She is not.

The trees on the mountains are bare now, and we can once again see our house from the bend in the road about a half mile below us. It makes coming home special when we see the barn quilt peeking out of the trees! And now, the kids will have twinkling lights to guide them over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house!

Dusk in the mountains

Even with the motion lights on, it is really dark here.The tree in the living room and the icicle lights look nice!

Friday, December 16, 2016

The year is coming to a close, and we are so thankful for the friends, family and customers we have here at Wazoo. Mr Wazoo is on the mend. He will have an MRI of his shoulder next week and will probably not need surgery. It will involve some physical therapy, but he's good at following directions and recovering.
By this time next week, the kids will be here and we will be having fun getting reacquainted with the smallest one, who is now walking like a pro.

Last night, we had the Christmas party at my evening guild, where we had the installation of the new officers. It was a nice way to end one year and begin another.

I didn't win the table decoration, but whined enough to get one from my friend and table mate, Maryann. Thank you!

Our new slate of officers was installed with comparisons of their duties to common sewing tools.It was a clever way to sum up their jobs. The rest of us are the stash!!

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care, and there'll soon be the aroma of cookies in the air.

Monday, December 12, 2016

(Written on 12/11 at midnight)
We got up this morning, think it was just another day at Wazoo. I watched a bit of TV, then went n a and took my shower. When I turned the water off, I heard the phone intercom ringing away, and ran to answer it and possibly chew Mr W out for buzzing me to ask about thread when I was wet and naked. On the other end was the quivering voice of the man I married saying he had taken a really bad fall and to come quickly. I pulled on some pants and a sweatshirt without even drying off and ran down to see what happened. Oh my goodness!! There he was, face all bloody and his clothes covered with yard schmootz. He told me his arm was badly hurt, but all I could see was the bloody face with his eye practically hanging out. I sat him down, told him to give me two minutes to get dressed and got an ice pack out of the freezer for the eye. Off to the ER we sped. (this is the least gory photo, taken in the ER after they cleaned the eye up a bit)

Time: 10:30 AM

It took awhile, but the nurse and ER doctor saw the man, he had X-rays and a CAT scan, got an IV and finally had a dose of strong pain killer. Concensus: he has to go to Gainsville where there is a trauma center and an Opthomologist/surgeon to take care of his eye. Oh goody...a Sunday trip over Blood Mountain.( the scariest, most winding, steepest road you'll ever drive on...but the only way to get anywhere from here in North Georgia) The patient had to go by ambulance, and I followed with the car.

Great weather for a dangerous drive! Leaving Blairsville.

Almost two hours later, we finally reached the hospital. I wish I had a picture to show you...very impressive place.

The trauma doctor and the ER nurse came and went, more X-rays, blood draw and questions. At around 2PM they came and said they had reached the Opthomologist at home and he was coming in. The Orthopaedic doctor got the new X-rays by internet (how cool is that?) and she would wait to see how the eye panned out before deciding what to do about the shoulder. Oh yeah...it's broken. Around 5PM the eye doctor came and examined the patient. He may need to go to Atlanta, says the doctor, and see the Opthoplastic surgeon. Oh please, no. Not another ambulance journey... Then, eye doctor says he has done the surgery before and will do it at the hospital if the patient agrees to it. By now, it was 7 pm and the man was not going to go to Atlanta.
The surgery was performed in the room and I was there for all of it. ( I even got to hand him a few things, since he knew I was a nurse and not intimidated by the surgical site) After a fascinating two hours, the eye was fixed and Mr W looked way better than he did at 10:30 this morning.
The orthopaedic doctor wants him to recover a bit from the eye trauma and see if some of the swelling goes down in his shoulder before deciding if he needs more surgery. We'll go back in a few days to find out the verdict.
The patient was given a pain med for the road and discharged at 9:30 pm and I drove us back home, over Blood Mountain...in the dark. We ate some leftovers...I had a BIG drink, and I tucked him in bed at 11: 30PM, thirteen hours after he fell on his head in the garden. You see, he loves his yard and gardens and had covered some tender plants the night before to protect them from frost. When taking off the covers, he lost his balance and pitched forward, taking a dive off a four foot tall retaining wall onto the frozen ground below. Whoopsie! That's what happened.
Okay, back to quilting. Yesterday, i finished the last of the Christmas orders, so we can take a bit of a vacation to shop and prepare for the kid's visit. Didn't work out like I planned, but at least Mr W is okay and we will have a Merry Christmas.
Isn't life interesting? Every day an adventure.

Friday, December 9, 2016

Tim spent some quality time with his plants before coming in for supper yesterday. We had the first hard freeze of the season, and he brought in the tenderest plants, and covered the ones too heavy to bring in. Sure enough, there was frost on the car this morning and the geraniums are looking spent.
The studio and living room are festive with flowering plants, so it seems to be a win-win situation!
The plants are under cover and safe again tonight.
In the studio, the Christmas quilting continues. Mr Wazoo came in from the cold to quilt a Harley Dvidson tee shirt quilt with a flaming motif. Radical!

Panto: Hot Rod

My day started with a small indulgence; quilting the pillow front for my daughter's winter decoration. While the machine chugged its way through a row of pantograph, I made the envelope back and finished the job!

Top all quilted and ready to sew

Finished pillow

The soft flannel on the back matches the quilt I made for her a month ago.

This is the quilt I did while messing about with the pillow project.

Cute 30s wonky 4-patch

Digital daisy panto

This cheater fabric on the back is perfect for the quilt. I'll get the binding on it tonight.

I also did this bird quilt for the same customer. I found a wonderful bird panto on line and it looks perfect on this quilt!

I forgot to show you what Mr W did yesterday, so here is one of the cutest retro circus panel quilts I have seen. I love the fabrics...so 1950s!

Panto: Quirky

Binding done! Quilt ready to go home.

Now, I have to get back to work...I have to finish the binding on the wonky 4-patch quilt before going to bed!